African heads of state, business leaders and investors are set to be hosted at the 2024 edition of the Africa Investment Risk and Compliance (AIRC) summit to find solutions to integrate financial crime compliance with sustainable development objectives and environmental protection measures.
The summit will take place at the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington DC, USA from 27th to 28th of June 2024.
Themed “Sustainable Resource Extraction in a Changing Climate: Compliance, Strategies, and Innovations,” the summit aims to address critical aspects of environmental sustainability, financial integrity, and responsible resource management in Africa’s extractive industry.
The focus of the summit has become imperative due to projections by the World Bank indicating that the production of minerals such as graphite, lithium, and cobalt could increase by nearly 500 per cent by 2050 to meet the growing demand for clean energy technologies.
The report also estimates that over 3 billion tons of minerals and metals will be needed to deploy wind, solar, and geothermal power, as well as energy storage required for achieving a below 2°C future.
Africa plays a critical role in meeting these demands as it hosts the largest deposit of lithium and is home to 30 per cent of the world’s mineral reserves, eight per cent of the world’s natural gas, and 12 per cent of the world’s oil reserves.
Additionally, 40 per cent of the world’s gold and up to 90 percent of its chromium and platinum are found in Africa.
AIRC 2024 Summit also aims to ensure that Africa’s natural resources are properly utilized to drive economic growth, alleviate poverty, and improve the quality of life for its people.
The summit will host different panels to deliberate on key topics including mapping Africa’s extractive resources, navigating investment challenges, the risk perception of Africa vs. reality, supply chain/corruption risk in the African extractives sector, rethinking risk and compliance in the age of AI, empowering diaspora partnerships for sustainable development, and understanding regulatory frameworks and governance standards in Africa.
The AIRC summit has been hosting leading African presidents, world leaders, business leaders, and investors in one innovative space to unlock the enormous potential of Africa.
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